New Start
by MandolinDoodler
Summary: Never once in his life had he planned on leaving the North Pole, his family, and his entire life behind yet here he was watching them get smaller and smaller on the horizon in a truck taking him to who-knows-where. [An 'Arthur leaves' AU]
1. Leaving

**I'm surprised no one has really done a fic like this yet where Arthur leaves part way through the movie. Maybe this will inspire you guys! I don't own Arthur Christmas.  
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Arthur watched as his slipper was swallowed by the ocean waves. It was supposed to be simple: take the sleigh and deliver the present so Gwen could have a perfect Christmas and the Claus's could sleep easy, again. Now him, Grand-santa, and Bryony were stuck in the desert no doubt waiting for Steve to track them down and reprimand them all the way back to the North Pole. The youngest Claus could only hope his brother would at least deliver the present before searching for them.

"Can I burn this?"

Arthur glanced over to Bryony holding Gwen's letter. For a moment he almost gave her permission to rid them of the parchment that started their problems in the first place, but there was a part deep in his heart that refused to so blatantly admit defeat. Just because the Santas of the family had stopped caring about children didn't mean Arthur had to as well. The young man trudged over to the wrapping elf and gently removed the letter from her small hand, staring at the sloppy writing and misspelled words. After a few moments, he looked down at Bryony with sorrowful eyes.

Elves were known for their devotion to Christmas, more so than the Claus family sometimes. To see an elf, especially one as passionate as Bryony, look as hopeless as Arthur felt nearly broke the young man. He clenched the purple letter tighter in his hand, making up his mind. Maybe he couldn't deliver Gwen's present, but it was Christmas and, though his grandfather had let him down, he at least deserved a better place to rest and wait for Steve -they all did.

With a determined gaze, Arthur scanned the horizon praying for any sort of sign of life. Luckily, not far from where they were camped out lay a cluster of lights, possibly a seaside town.

"Come on, there's a town down that way," he said, pointing towards the light, "we can get some food and maybe some rest while we wait for Steve." Without waiting for a reply, Arthur began the trek along the shore, glancing back only to make sure Grand-santa and Bryony were keeping up with him. Though they stumbled along the way, the elder Claus and elf didn't dare complain; Arthur was breaking as it was and neither wanted to get on the young man's bad side.

Ten minutes later, the trio finally entered the small city. Even with the morning sun barely touching the sandy streets and Christmas day blooming in every home, the people were buzzing outside, filling the town square with life. A group of women rushed by with baskets of clothes, vendors set up their stands to get some sales in for the morning, children dashed through the crowds enjoying their new trinkets.

Arthur stared wide eyed at the busyness of the streets. He'd spent the last twenty years in the North Pole and seen the hectic world of elves during the cram session right before Christmas eve. Never before had he dared to venture into the middle of them when their minds were so focused and the halls so crowded, but being in the middle of that small city, the young Claus felt he knew what it would be like.

And even though he felt unusually small despite being taller than many of the citizens, and he had to dodge a running child or hurried townsman every two seconds (and even though his evening/morning had been beyond crappy), a smile still managed to creep its way onto Arthur's face. It was just so exciting when he didn't have to worry about being spotted by the authorities or shot at for stealing a sign. If it weren't for his responsibilities at the Pole, he'd let himself get swept away by the crowd.

But, wait, Arthur thought as the smile slipped from his face, it isn't as if he was _needed_ at the North Pole. Yes, children all deserved to have their letters answered, but -at the risk of sounding like Grand-santa- that's elf work. Maybe it would be a big deal if he was Santa, but Arthur was the equivalent of an elf; it would be nothing to replace him if he just disappeared.

A tug on his jacket brought the youngest Claus out of his thoughts. "C'mon, lad, let's get out of this crowd. Me hips can't take this much longer." Grand-Santa looked up at his grandson and, when he received a small nod, turned towards a nearby building with some crates stacked against it. Right behind him Bryony followed closely, cautious of getting trampled with her small size and constantly glancing around to make sure there were no suspicions of the group's mythical background.

Arthur followed at their slow pace, his mind bouncing back to his earlier thoughts. It's wasn't like he could simply jump on a plane and be off. He didn't have money in general, let alone the right currency for where ever he was. And simply walking off wasn't an option either; he wouldn't get far enough away to escape Steve's radar or even Bryony's running distance.

But what was he doing even considering all of these options? It's not like he would actually do it. The young Claus had a life in the North Pole, a simple life and one where he wasn't very appreciated, but a life all the same. Yeah, thoughts like that weren't helping him at all…

Right then, a man carrying a crate bumped into Arthur, making the young man nearly lose sight of his grandfather and elf. The man with the crate mumbled an apology before setting his load onto the back of a truck.

"That's the last one," he called to the driver. Wiping his hands onto his pants, the man got into the passenger side of the vehicle. Arthur watched as the truck growled to life, tempting him with the idea of driving all day to some unknown town or city up the coast. It would be too easy to jump into the back of the truck and crawl between some of the loosely packed crates. No one would even know he was there and he could get out at the next town without a trace.

Arthur stood in the middle of the street now staring at his grandfather and elf as they took a seat on the crates by the nearby building. Grand-santa shifted, trying to get comfortable on the hard surface, and Bryony kept her suspicious gaze on the crowd while she swiftly hoisted herself next to Grand-santa. They hadn't even noticed Arthur was gone, yet.

So Arthur watched them some more. He watched as they sat there a few moments, Grand-santa grumbling to himself and Bryony easily tuning him out. He watched as Bryony looked past the old Santa to see an empty spot, her eyes widening in near terror. He watched as the two grew frantic when they couldn't find him in the crowd, Grand-santa going from irritated to ready for a heart attack.

And he watched as their faces became smaller, getting lost as more and more people were put between him and his family. The youngest Claus hadn't even realized he'd boarded the truck currently hauling him to some unknown town miles away until he lost sight of his partners.

For a split second, Arthur panicked because he'd just left his century-old grandfather and spiritless elf in the middle of some strange city with no way to contact Steve or pay for anything like food or sleeping quarters. The shock almost had him scrambling out of the bed of the vehicle and bolting to his family's side, spilling apologies for disappearing. Almost. His feet refused to budge until the initial panic settled.

When the tension in his body finally released, Arthur slowly readjusted himself in the pile of crates to get comfortable. He couldn't see Grand-santa and Bryony anymore, their faces and voices having long disappeared in the city bustle. The young man knew he should be worrying as he always did, but that little part of him that constricted his lungs and put his mind on a single track was strangely calm. Some part of him very, very deep down honestly wanted to leave, to have a chance at a life where he was wanted and see the places he'd only seen stamps of.

At terms with that idea, Arthur solemnly turned to watch the passing buildings become blurs until they melted into sandy scenery. No matter how hard he tried to focus on the desert, though, he couldn't ignore the clenching in his heart reminding him that he might never see his family again.

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**I wrote this awhile ago with a plan to make a full story out of it, but I haven't been able to get past the first chapter and I haven't been able to settle on one way for the story to go (not that I couldn't just write both). I might find a way to make this into a two-shot where you find out what happened to Arthur after several years being away or I'll just leave it be -depends on my motivation.**


	2. Arthur's Travels

**Happy Christmas!**

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Arthur distractedly wrung the strap of his hefty backpack looking through the plane destinations glowing on the massive wall before him. He needed to decide where to go next.

After spending a week dodging the HOHO 3000 radar in what he discovered to be Cuba, the young Claus decided it was time he get off of the island country. His escape was similar to before, stowing away on a boat and finding out later where he would end up. A few days later the man was in Brazil marveling at the tropical setting that was so unlike the North Pole.

In the washroom of the ship, Arthur found himself a more inconspicuous shirt, socks, and shoes to wear (he left an IOU just in case someone came looking for them). His holiday sweater he kept close to him as he left the ship, not ready to let the precious garment go after all he'd been through with it.

It took a while, but he Claus soon found a place he could make some money without anyone digging into his story. He was able to negotiate a job and temporary living arrangement with the shop owner so he could settle down until he figured out what to do next. Not for the first time Arthur found himself thankful he was put to work in Letters at the Pole – he got letters from all over the world and needed to know multiple languages to read them all. No matter where he went, the young Claus would at least be able to communicate with people.

He spent a month and half working at that shop until he was nearly caught by an elf searching the store late one night. That's when he decided his only hope of escaping the radar for good was if he kept moving, so he bought himself some supplies and set off to explore South America. If Arthur wasn't sleeping to adjust to the different time zones he was talking to the natives to learn as much as possible (he didn't want to get dragged back to the North Pole without at least enjoying his time away from the frozen tundra) or he was picking up the odd job to keep his funds up so he could travel more.

Already it had been seven and a half long but exciting months since the young Claus walked away from his life as a surrogate elf. Now the seasons were changing and Arthur was ready to change with them, find somewhere new to spend the fall (or in some cases spring).

Focusing back on the wall of destinations, Arthur debated between Africa and Europe. On the one hand, if he went to Africa he wouldn't have to make as many changes to his supplies and wardrobe to deal with the warm climate since he would be coming from a warm continent anyways. On the other hand, Europe would offer a much more compact culture that would keep the Claus happily occupied every minute of his visit.

"Do I wanna head straight up there or take the scenic route?"

The question came as a murmur from a woman on Arthur's right. She looked to be around his age with honey locks tied in a hasty bun, staring up at the same wall as him. When she noticed Arthur glancing over at her she started and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, don't mind me!" Her hands went to one of the straps on her backpack to fidget with the wearing seams. The action brought the young Claus' attention to the many patches sewn into the bag, all sporting names of various countries and landmarks.

"Woah," Arthur said in wonder, moving a bit closer to inspect some of the patches, "you sure have travelled a lot." He'd seen many of the images on postage stamps and some pictures that would come attached to letters to Santa.

"Hm?" The young woman's gaze followed his and realization dawned on her face. "Oh, the patches! Well, I wish I could say I've been to all these places, but I've barely made a dent in all of these. This bag used to belong to my brother – he used to go all over the world and would grab one of these to mark where he'd been." She hesitated then continued, encouraged by the sincere interest Arthur exhibited, "it wasn't until a couple months ago that I finally gathered the courage to leave and see all the places he saw."

Arthur smiled and nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean; I grew up in a, uh, pretty isolated place and the only time I got to see anything from outside my home was in letters. We'd get them from all over the world," he couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice here, "photos and stamps of so many places and letters written in so many languages! Ever since I was a boy I wondered what the world must be like." His eyes softened when he added, "sometimes I wonder why I didn't leave earlier."

They grew silent as they momentarily got lost in their own thoughts. An announcement overhead startled them into the present and they shared an awkward laugh. "You don't have a plane to catch anytime soon do you?"

Arthur spared a glance to the lit up destinations he'd been contemplating moments ago and made a quick decision. "Not really, why?"

"Have you been to Ellie's Café?"

"I've heard of it, but every time I looked for it I couldn't ever find it. I spent an entire afternoon trying to find it just to end up on the other side of town!" He snorted and his wheezing laugh filled the space between them. Relief filled him when she laughed along with him, unfazed by his unusual laugh unlike most people he'd come across.

When they settled down she said, "then why don't you and I go on a little adventure before we leave this place? I'll lead the way." She grinned at him and something fluttered in his chest. He grinned back and gave his answer in the form of an enthusiastic nod.

They found the café in less than an hour and spent the rest of the morning there drinking coffee and tea, and swapping stories.

Her name was Jane and she grew up in a plain suburban town where the only excitement came from the souvenirs a brother many years her senior would send from his travels. The only other time in the year she remembered being so happy was during the holidays when the entire town would be decorated top to bottom with Christmas lights and the neighborhood would come together to ensure everybody could have a magical holiday.

Her enthusiasm was contagious and Arthur found himself sharing just as much as her. He talked about his small family, his clumsiness that was amplified in a "town" covered in ice, his love of all things Christmas (which he was happy to note was still there despite his fallout with his family the previous Christmas), all the letters he got to read, and all the places he'd been and was hoping to go.

It was early afternoon that they realized they'd been sitting at the café for several hours and both needed to catch a plane out of town. And while neither wanted to leave the other just yet, they weren't quite ready to change all their plans for the sake of a stranger they'd happened to come across in an airport. Rather, they came up with a new plan to meet later.

"Have you ever seen New York City during the holidays?" Jane asked. Arthur shook his head and Jane's smile lit up. "Okay, then we'll meet there! I'll be working my way up there from Mexico and plan on getting there the week of Christmas. On that Monday, we'll meet in Rockefeller Plaza, okay?"

He agreed full heartedly, his brain already working on how he was going to get there. Europe and Africa would take a back seat for a while – he had all the time in the world to explore those continents. Instead, he would take a plane to California and travel across the United States, doing whatever it took to ensure he made it to New York in time to meet Jane.

Their departure at the airport was harder than either of the young adults thought it would be. Every time they thought they were ready to go one would suddenly remember something they wanted to tell the other and another ten minutes would pass by in a blink. It was when the last call for Jane's flight interrupted their conversation that they realized they actually had to say goodbye. The young woman fell into a frenzy, doing a quick pat down of her pockets and bag to ensure she had everything, then startled her companion with a tight hug that lasted long enough for Arthur to gather his bearings and hug her back just as tight.

He watched her go until he couldn't see her any longer.

With a great sigh, the young Claus turned to catch his own plane. The next few months passed in a blur that was only broken up by thoughts of a certain honey haired, hazel eyed woman and as December grew nearer, Arthur grew more and more restless wherever he was staying; he had to fight the urge several times to not take a plane straight to New York. He didn't want to get there too early and he wanted to save as much money as possible for when he was actually there.

But finally – _finally!_ – the day arrived and he found himself in a cheap motel checking himself in the mirror every chance he got, wondering if maybe he should have gotten a haircut or if his sweater exuded enough Christmas spirit for the occasion (or maybe it was too exciting), and a slew of other worries that would have Grandsanta rolling his eyes and grumbling about "back in his day." With one last once over, Arthur headed out.

As he made his way through the city, he suddenly understood why Jane would want to meet in New York; there were Christmas lights and decorations covering every inch of every building, Santas at every corner, holiday music coming from every store. And when he saw the gargantuan Christmas tree lighting up Rockefeller Plaza, framed by flurries of snow and ice skaters, he couldn't help but wish once again that he'd left the North Pole sooner.

As Arthur marvelled the sight, an arm looped through his, startling him out of his daze. He looked over to see two familiar hazel eyes peering back at him and a smile stretched across his face when him and the woman shared a hug.

"Jane! It's so good to see you."

"You too, Arthur! And your sweater, it's incredible!" The knot that had formed in the pit of Arthur's stomach loosened with each word Jane said. He almost couldn't believe he'd gotten so worked up over seeing her again. "C'mon, we have a lot of catching up to do."

They picked up some hot chocolate from a nearby kiosk and found a place to settle down near the rink to talk about all of the places they'd been in the last few months. And with every exciting story they shared, there was an accompanying, "you would have loved it" or "I wish you could have been there." By the time their stories have reached the present, the sky has darkened and they must reluctantly depart, but not without a promise to meet up the next day.

They spend the rest of the week like that; meeting up and exploring the city, talking about where they each plan on going next, and -without realizing it- making plans together. They slowly go from '_I'm _going there' to _'we_ should go there' and they don't notice it until the New Year's buzz has died down and they're back in the airport looking at destinations, going through the pros and cons of each place, then buying tickets and loading onto the plane, side by side.

And for the first time in a year, Arthur feels at peace with his decision to leave.

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**I'm back! And I have quite a few ideas for continuing this idea, some of them already partway written. I have basically turned this main idea into a three-shot, so the next chapter will be up tomorrow (hopefully). The rest will either be oneshots of continuations of this main idea OR alternate versions of these first few chapters (aka different ways Arthur leaves and he is reunited with his family).**

**Don't forget to tell me what you think! I love you guys and you are all awesome if you are coming back and reading this (since it's been a couple years...). Happy Christmas!**

**~MandolinDoodler**


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